We are wrapping up another enjoyable week with our son’s
family here in Long Beach Island and now await the arrival of our daughter and
her family. We’ve been able to
squeek in a little birding time between beaching, miniature golf, fishing, and
so on and in fact had a successful chase after a Jersey rarity, the
Scissor-tailed flycatcher.
This flycatcher should be in
the south-central region of the country during the summer months and around
this time of year should be gathering in large flocks to begin their migration
to Mexico and points south. So,
why did this bird decide to make an appearance in central New Jersey? Only God and the bird know. In any case, the bird chose some pretty
nice digs to settle into, making her summer home the cranberry bogs of Brown’s
Mills.
Having noticed the reports of
this elegant flycatcher on eBird, Sharon and I took a brief trip northwest to
White’s Bogs, an historical cranberry producing operation about an hour from
where we are staying in LBI. We
found a group of Jersey birders on site, but they had already seen the
flycatcher and were off on another quest.
We asked where we might be able to locate the scissor-tail and were
given explicit directions to “Bog 5” where the bird has been recently
sighted. We were rewarded for our
efforts in no time as we drove up to the bog, got out the scope and had the
bird fly in and land on a sprinkler head.
As I went for the Nikon, the bird left as quickly as it had appeared and
I figured I might have last my one chance for a decent shot at the quarry.
We continued to scout out Bog
5 and surrounding areas with sightings of other flycatchers but not the
scissor-tail. Finally, after another
hour and a half, we returned to said bog and found the desired bird perched out
in the middle of the bog. As luck
would have it, we were blessed with brightening skies as I began to shoot. After a day of misty overcast
conditions, the timing could not have been better. Shooting from the portable blind known as the RAV4, I was
able to get better and better shots as the bird flew in closer and closer. Eventually, he departed, but only after
giving us a great look for an extended time.
 |
| Semi-palmated sandpiper |
We ended the week with an
afternoon down at Brigantine NWR.
We met a friend of ours who we bird the Brig with each August and headed
out onto the wildlife drive in the heat of the day. Mid-day in mid-summer is not the greatest time for birding,
but we did OK with about 40 species.
We noted once again how the cast changes from week to week as we head
towards fall. Two weeks ago, it
was all about the dunlin. Last
week, the dowitchers took over.
This week, it was thousands of semi-palmated sandpipers that dotted the
mudflats.
Probably the best shot of the
day was of the grand Caspian tern which we found hunting over the first
impoundment. We watched a shot for
at least 10 minutes before leaving the bird behind, still plunging into the
depths for its lunchtime meal.
Other terns we
found on site included the omnipresent Forster’s terns, a few Least terns, and
several Gull-billed terns. The usual assemblage of herons and egrets were of course on-site as well and this little snowy flew by to check us out as we drove around the impoundments.
Finally, we had a nice comparison of two of our more common "peeps" which were found together on the jetty off of South 31st Street in Beach Haven. Both size and plumage differences were evident, but of course the most obvious difference was the bright yellow legs of the Least as opposed to the black legs of the Sanderling (actually a bit too large to be a true "peep") The Least is one of our really long distance travelers and is likely to be headed down to South America in the immediate future. We'll keep an eye out for him on the jetty.
 |
| Least sandpiper |
 |
| Sanderling |
We’ll keep track of what
develops down here over the next week or so and keep you informed via the
blog. Stay in touch!
No comments:
Post a Comment